The William the Conqueror, Rye

Attractive, narrow Shepherd Neame pub at the sea end of Rye Harbour. Three-part interior in mostly light wood, with the bar counter in the centre and all parts having a nautical decorative theme as you would expect. Plenty of outdoor seating across the road towards the lifeboat station too. Master Brew, Whitstable Bay pale ale and Coast Drifter (£5.60) available from the three handpumps.

With the Inkerman Arms up the road not reopening after the pandemic lockdowns this leaves the William the Conqueror as the last man standing in Rye Harbour and the only place for an ale for those exploring the Rye Harbour nature reserve or those holidaymakers who get fed up with the on-site bar at the Rye Harbour Holiday camp. Fortunately, it’s a fairly decent Shepherd Neame pub providing beer and food for the few locals and the tourist hordes in the summer months. From the outside it looks very much like a lot of the houses that sit on one side of this dead end road and could easily be mistaken for one if it wasn’t for the pub branding and the outside seating area opposite. Internally it is a long thin space with a nautical theme throughout. The front section has seating on both sides of the central walkway and benefits from the large bay window to the left. The second section has the bar on the left and seating to the wall on the right and then beyond the bar is an additional room set to wooden tables and chairs. The outside space opposite the pub has a mixture of open tables and individual beach hut style undercover booths. The bar supports three Shep Neame ales which were Master Brew, Whitstable Bay and Citra Smack for our visit and there was Spitfire Bear Island, West Coast, IPA and Whitstable lager on keg. I went for the Citra Smack, and it was on excellent form and probably a better pint than the one of the same beer I experienced in Hastings the previous day. Although we did not try it the food menu was interesting as I believe the current landlord is Cypriot and the menu was a mix of traditional Greek dishes alongside the usual fish and seafood dishes. I thought it was a good pub and hope it thrives and survives. If not there will be a lot of thirsty and hungry people walking the nature reserve in future.

Official site of The William the Conqueror - www.williamtheconqueror.co.uk

Official site of The William the Conqueror - www.williamtheconqueror.co.uk